Former Arizona college student sentenced to life in prison for murder of professor

A former University of Arizona graduate student has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting his professor 11 times.

Last month, a Pima County jury found Murad Dervish, 48, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Thomas Meixner, the head of the university’s Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, the AP reports.

Dervish was also convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and three counts of endangerment.

The jury took less than three hours to deliver a guilty verdict on May 21, said the AP.

Last week, Superior Judge Howard Fell sentenced Dervish to life in prison, plus an additional 14 years, without the possibility of parole.

On October 5, 2022, Dervish entered the Harshbarger Building on the university campus just before 2 p.m., reported USA Today. He pursued the Meixner down the hallway and into a classroom, where he shot the professor 11 times before fleeing the scene.

Dervish’s attorney stated that the motive for the shooting stemmed from Dervish’s anger over receiving a bad grade from Meixner.

At the time of the murder, Dervish had reportedly been expelled from the university and banned from the campus due to ongoing issues with professors. 

During the sentencing, Margaret Meixner, the victim’s sister, criticized the university for not doing enough to protect the professor. 

“The University of Arizona failed my brother,” she said, according to USA Today. “He loved and trusted the U of A, but that trust was misplaced.” 

Meixner’s family settled a lawsuit against the university for $2.5 million in January, according to the AP. 

Following the sentencing, Meixner’s wife Kathleen issued the following statement:  

“The man who took my husband’s life will spend the rest of his life in prison, but that doesn’t bring Tom back. My sons will never see their father again in this life. The University of Arizona lost a treasured professor. The community lost a brilliant scientist.”